


Is it worth it...?

by KazueEmiko



Series: Past Mistake [2]
Category: Love Live! School Idol Project
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Historical, Angst, Betrayal, Blood and Gore, F/F, Gore, Government Conspiracy, Implied/Referenced Torture, Murder, Ninja, Politics, Samurai, Tension, plenty of bloodshed here...
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-06
Updated: 2019-08-06
Packaged: 2020-08-10 18:00:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,637
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20139646
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KazueEmiko/pseuds/KazueEmiko
Summary: Ever since that night, things began to progressively get worse for both Umi and Maki. Their fate starts to spiral downward into a predictable nature. Is there anything they can do?





	Is it worth it...?

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted to expand upon the idea from the first one shot. :) I had planned for a third one, but it's still a work in progress.

It has been one month since the incident. One long month since Nishikino Maki killed Sonoda Umi’s future self. So many things had occurred during that time span.

Funerals were held for the royal guards who laid their lives for their lord. Umi had to be treated in the medical bay with the help of Minami Kotori, Maki’s most trusted doctor. Malicious rumors began anew, spreading like wildfires among her civilians and government officials. Distrust and doubts plagued the guards that served under her. Assassination attempts grew in its number after its brief vacation. Riots and protests bubbled up in her nation.

To put it shortly, everything was a huge mess. It almost felt like the ruler’s predicament from the past rose back from the dead. All in less than a month. Only this time, she didn’t have the blue-haired warrior by her side.

“Lord Nishikino, please do not listen to these rumors.”

A pair of violet eyes dragged its gaze over to the left. In this large throne room, they were the only ones present, a lord who sat on her knees in her appropriate position, her protector sitting by her side in a similar posture. By her side is Yazawa Nico. Acting as a substitute to her wife’s original role, the ninja in her black attire looked over at the young woman. Concern was scrawled all over her facial features.

Maki, in response, let out a weary exhale. There was no reason to be subtle with her feelings and opinions on the matter at hand.

“I know. However, it would be a lie for me to say that it is not affecting me in some way.”

The hands that were resting on her lap balled into fists. Still fixated on the older fighter, she added, “The news of their deaths yielded a result much worse than I had anticipated.”

Nico shook her head. “We all didn’t see it coming. It’s natural for their families and friends to take it in badly… but for them to go out and be the cause of the rumors? Ridiculous. Is this how they treat their lord?”

“Nico, please don’t say that.” There was a sharp tone in the red-hair’s voice. “As much as their actions hurt me, I cannot blame them for acting that way.”

How brutally humble of her lord. A ruler worthy of serving under, but, at the same time, unworthy of her title. They need to be strong and execute politically correct decisions, especially in regard to punishments of the wrongdoers. Slanders of a royal family warrant more than enough reasons to slap a stick on the wrist in this time era. Yet Lord Nishikino brushed them aside. Instead, she absorbed all of their harsh words and actions. Her response to their motives? Bear through it all with a spent smile. This kindness will soon lead to her own demise.

The ninja simply turned away, red eyes focused on the opposite wall. How ironic. A scroll in kanji read ‘ 見ぬが花 - Not seeing is a flower’ stood across from the two figures. As if the timing couldn’t have been better than ever. Eyes narrowed, she murmured, “Right… Sorry about that, my lord.”

A brief silence hung between the two in the room. The atmosphere became heavier as more time prolonged. Such morbid aura wouldn’t have existed if it weren’t for the incident last month. Otherwise, this room would’ve been entirely bright. But for now, despite the daylight shining into the area, negativity managed to overwhelm it. The quietness finally broke once Maki let out a small chuckle. This startled the warrior from the unexpected reaction, forcing her to look at the woman in puzzlement.

“I hope the counselors and government officials would believe in my explanation once again today.”

“Are you speaking about the meeting that will occur in this room, my lord?”

Lord Nishikino nodded. When Nico saw the response, she let out a sigh and lowered her head.

“I hate to say it, but I wouldn’t believe you either had I not been the one taking out the dead bodies with my comrades.”

It was a duty only performed with great secrecy. Maki was forced to call upon Nico and her most trusted teammates to take care of the bodies. The event was unnatural. No one would call on a specialized team of shadow fighters to do dirty work. However, once their eyes caught sight of the older Sonoda’s body, they knew what had to be done. Had words gotten out to the public on the appearance of the female’s existence, things would’ve gotten a lot worse than their current situation. (Rumors about the lord’s lack of defensive strategy plan with General Ayase would’ve twisted into the lord’s schizophrenic symptoms fit for banishment.)

However, Maki had underestimated the end result. Since a vague explanation of how the guards died left many families and friends angry, further digging the lord’s grave by spreading false rumors about corruption, she needed the help of the government officials and counselors. Not many would trust in the words of ninjas like Yazawa, so she had no choice but to resort to those that have political powers.

The first time didn’t work. With Nico by her side, the large body laughed it off as a foolish fantasy created by a young woman like herself. Many pointed their fingers that, because of her outrageous action as a ruler to conceal the true cause of death for the guards, everyone serving under Lord Nishikino had their reputation grounded to the dirt.

The second time yielded less attendance. Again, she received similar treatment, if not, much worse. Most of the participants encouraged that the royal female should pass on the title to another individual, particularly to a male head of an aristocratic family. Some even managed to worsen the trust with her by spreading baseless lies on Maki’s private usage of opium, which might’ve led to her blown up simplification.

This would be their third time holding the session. If it doesn’t work… She might have to rethink her action plan. But for now, she’s having high hopes that third time’s the charm. Otherwise, it might just end with three strikes and you’re out.

“Lord Nishikino, they have arrived.”

Nico’s voice called her back to reality, the royal female barely realizing that she had faded into her mental zone. She didn’t have to make a motion for the ninja to adhere to her responsibility. The shorter of the two vanished. A lone, green leaf gently floated downward from where she originally sat. By the time it reached the square black mattress, Yazawa was on one knee. Fluidly, she slid the door opened.

Through the doorway revealed a small number of men and women, ages all ranging between their late 20s to early 60s. Approximately nine of them arrived for the meeting. In comparison to the number from the second session, this was drastically smaller than Maki had wished for. Regardless, she should be counting her blessings that there were at least some important figures that would hear her out.

“Thank you for coming, everyone,” the ruler proclaimed as they filed in. With Nico keeping her eyes like a hawk on everyone in the background, the invited guests all stood at attention. Then, the young 20-year-old watched them be seated appropriately one-by-one. Once the last person completed said-action, Maki motioned her hand. “Although there are only nine of you, I want to truly express my deepest thanks and gratefulness to all of you. I understood that what I have to say may be thought of as lies, but please, I beg of you, to place your utmost trust in my testimony.”

A few mumbles were heard from the small crowd, yet none questioned nor objected her words so far. The young female took their reaction as permission to continue onward. The hand lowered down to her lap, Maki softly exhaled.

“I do not know how it is possible, but as I have repeated myself for the past two sessions, Sonoda Umi’s future self came to the royal palace last month. I do not wish to place the blame on a nameless intruder as I had originally done, which led to outrage from my citizens. I also do not wish to place the blame on an innocent criminal or civilian who had no connection to this massacre.”

Then, an unusual scenario unfolded. Their superior, who wields more commands and powers than anyone combined in the royal palace, bowed before them till her forehead came into contact with the bamboo flooring. Maki’s eyes squeezed shut as she pleaded,

“Please… Help me with this, counselors and officials. I am but a ruler who still has much to learn. If there is any way to alleviate the crisis, I will not hesitate to take it into consideration.”

More mumbles in the background. The red-haired woman still kept her bowing position fixed. Then, a male voice erupted from one of the nine.

“Lord Nishikino, we all have a suggestion that you can undergo to revert the damages.”

Her ears perked up. Immediately raising her head, she was greeted with… the tip from a steel blade. it came from another member from the audience in this premise, her katana aimed directly at the female’s face. Pupils dilating, the woman was frozen in her spot as the one who had spoken, a counselor, got up on his two feet.

“I suggest that you… answer an important question,” he spoke in an ironically serene tone.

Behind the throne room, Nico had leaped into action– or so she was supposed to. She was currently locked in a heated conflict with another ninja, perhaps one from her own squad as they wore the same armband and tattoos marked on the back of their right hand. Metal against metal, they created sparks upon each contact. It’s too bad that the female ninja was too occupied with one of her potential teammate.

On the ruler’s side, she could not do anything in their current predicament. Although she wished for a katana to protect herself from having anything like this happen, Maki opted out of the option in favor of keeping her reputation from being tainted. (Who would want to be under the commands and rule of a paranoid lord?) The best that she could do was remain still and calm. Violet eyes glaring at the man, eight other individuals in the room, easily concluded to be his companions, followed after his action.

“What is this question you wish for me to answer?” she carefully answered. “Although I wish you did not have to raise your blade against your ruler for it.”

“I think it will be necessary, Lord Nishikino… Or should I say, Wife of Sonoda Umi.”

She almost felt her eyes boggle out of their sockets. Where did he get that information from? What made him come to that conclusion? Before more questions sprouted, the young woman firmly planted her feet to the ground.

Jumping to a conclusion was an easy feat, yet not enough shreds of evidence suggested that he actually knew about it. Nico had taught her during the four years of her budding leadership. An enemy could easily wring an answer out from anyone by surprising them with a guess that hits straight home. Taking this important advice into consideration, Maki shook her head.

“Wife? I hope you do understand that I am not married to anyone.”

“Oh really? If you insist…” He shot a glance at the nearest official and gave a nod. “Since Lord Nishikino hasn’t admitted the truth, I suggest you search through her and Sonoda’s bedroom for evidence of their relationship. After all…” His gaze returned back to the ruler. “Someone from the ceremony told us about this… the forbidden relationship between two girls.”

She frowned. Who could’ve singled them out and chucked sensitive information towards others outside of the privately and highly selective group invited to the marriage ceremony? Well, that thought could be pondered about later. Maki has much more pressing matter at hand.

“Search our rooms all you want, there is nothing in there that proves our relationship to be a married couple–”

“We may… not find proof, but tell me… Lord Nishikino, everyone in your nation are in an unstable phase. How would you like it if we… spilled this to the public?” When he saw the reaction, just a slight reaction with her violet eyes darkening, a grin stretched across his face. “After all… No one was supposed to even know that you’re married in the first place, yes? Your citizens would listen to just about anything that comes from anyone’s mouth. Anyone that isn’t you, of course.”

The lord couldn’t formulate any words to combat against his. Instead, she lowered her head. He wasn’t wrong about it. Her civilians are currently undergoing a major emotional crisis. Ever since the disruption from the future Umi occurred last month, everything just went downhill from there. A repeat of her horrific time era as a budding ruler… Only this time, the blue-haired samurai was nowhere near her.

She gritted her teeth when a laugh came from his direction, followed by a few demands towards the other staffs.

“I want you to make sure Sonoda Umi never wakes up, I want you to kill Yazawa Nico, and… I need you to knock out Lord Nishikino. After all, the ownership of lord cannot transfer unless we get her signature on the paper…”

Then, a flash of pain smashed into the back of her skull. It didn’t even take a second for Maki’s entire vision to blackout from the impact, and it certainly didn’t give her any time to think before passing out.

Cold sweat. Bandaged side. Terrible aches coming from the old stabbed wound. Trembles plaguing her entire figure. This was not the first time Umi had this sort of reaction before.

The injured samurai was seen sitting up on the futon. A dimly lit candle acting as a nightlight laid by the head of the white mattress, giving one of the couple private patient rooms a warm environment. However, the warrior felt anything but warmth. Her brown eyes flickered down to one of her hands and squeezed the blanket’s edge with great intensity.

Ever since she had an encounter with her future self, Sonoda has been plagued with nightmare after nightmare. Nightmares that all resulted in the death of Maki. Brutally tortured. Brutally tormented. Brutally broken. Over… and over… and over again, she was forced to relieve them through her dreams. Poor Kotori had to constantly come into her room every night to make sure her best friend wasn’t suffering from any head injuries or excessive pain. Thankfully, Umi didn’t make a single peep tonight, though the vivid dream still remains as a part of her sleeping session. (It’s no wonder why she takes so long to recover… It’s all from the lack of proper rest.)

“Maybe I should go back to sleep…” she groaned to herself.

This is no way for a fighter to act. If she were to continue standing by her lord’s side, her wife’s side, then she needs to recover as fast as possible. Now that it’s been a month, Umi should’ve been back as Lord Nishikino’s protector since a week ago. (She should be thanking Nico for taking over the important role for a while.) How embarrassing for the woman.

Right when she was about to lay back down on the soft futon, the hairs on the back of her neck stood up. Every single red flag rose at this one moment. Whatever fatigue Umi felt from earlier rapidly eroded away. Instead, she ignored her achy, but mostly healed scar and grabbed her nearby sheathed katana. In a defaulted white kimono for patients, the samurai adjusted her posture. One hand on the hilt, the other on the casing, she was ready to last out at the enemy.

The door slowly slid open. Umi’s brown eyes narrowed. She tightened her grip. Then, she flicked her wrist and–

“N-Nico?!”

It appears that it was only her fellow ninja friend, Yazawa. However, there was something seriously off about the older female. The 24-year-old stumbled into the room. She fell forward without warning, forcing the warrior’s reflexes to get back to motion and catch the raven-haired.

“Nico… Nico!”

“Could you… stop being… so loud?”

Umi was grateful to hear the sound of the ninja alive enough to sass back at the samurai. That relieved moment fell short when groaned about the cuts that plastered all over the woman’s exposed skin. When Nico eventually mentioned the terminology, ‘poison’, her panic mode nearly kicked into gear. The katana-wielder has absolutely no knowledge in toxicology. She doesn’t know how to treat poison nor know how to identify them. How in the world was she supposed to take care of Nico?

Before she picked up the injured warrior, Yazawa raised a hand and weakly pressed it against the girl’s shoulder.

“Stop… I’ll be fine…”

“No, you’re not fine! I’m going to take you straight to Kotori, and we’ll have this figured out–”

“Maki… She’s taken…”

Upon hearing the name of her lover, Umi felt her heart drop to the deepest part of the pit. Losing her breath for a brief moment, the light-headed samurai blinked a couple of times in pure shock.

“…what?”

The older of the two let out a soft exhale. “You heard me… She’s taken…”

“By who?!”

“Government… officials…. counselors…”

“Damn it… Why couldn’t you have protected her?!”

Nico usually would argue back against Umi, but she didn’t have enough energy to exert her irritation towards the younger. Instead, she ignored the question and moved onto the more important detail.

“In... room… Interrogation… room…”

“Oh God… When did they take her?!”

“An… An… hour ago… I think…”

And at that point in their conversation, it came to a sudden halt. Yazawa finally passed out. Whether it was from the pain receptors going into total overload or she became exhausted from the poison, only Doctor Kotori could diagnose the issue. Umi used this chance to gently lay her down on the futon. Then, she got up on her two feet. She needs to save her wife… fast! But at the same time, she can’t leave Nico to die from the poison. Who knows how far she had to push herself from the throne room all the way to the medical bay just to deliver a message to Umi?

A low growl emitted from the blue-haired warrior as she slammed the door to the side. Not even five steps were taken until she bumped into two scenarios. One, there was a dead official right outside of her room. Two, Minami Kotori was seen running towards her spot.

It didn’t take a genius to put things together with Nico. Umi’s brown eyes widen upon gaining knowledge on the ninja’s objective. Then, she lowered her head.

“U-Umi! What’s going on here?” the medical staff cried out. “I heard a lot of fighting and screaming, particularly near your room–”

“Nico killed someone who tried to assassinate me. She’s been poisoned… so I need you to take care of her.”

She got straight to the point. Not a single hesitation nor delay was noted in her delivery. With that finally spoken, Umi walked away from the premise and towards her destination. Kotori, on another hand, managed to squeeze in a question that reached the samurai’s eardrums.

“Where are you going, Umi?!”

“To save my wife.”

Considering the pace that the warrior went, it was slow at first. Her legs were hardly warmed up, and applying the fact that she spent most of her time in bed recovering really dulled her physical stamina. However, running from the medical bay all the way to the interrogation room, which was located on the opposite end of the palace and underground, gave the female more than enough time to pick up the speed.

Umi dashed as fast as she could. Sweat poured out of her pores as soon as she got halfway through the building. The only thing that was in her mind was Maki. All she wanted was for the woman to be safe. If anything were to happen to her, oh God, Sonoda would not know what to do. She clenched her teeth and, a hand resting on the sheathed katana, raced towards the destination.

Five minutes were eaten up until she reached her goal. Having it located underground was nowhere as helpful as ground level. It required lots of steps, and Umi had to rapidly trend downward with caution. A single wrong move could easily result in tumbling down and breaking and/or fracturing a bone or two. Frankly, the 22-year-old has never been down in this part of the palace. The most she’s ever known about it was from the map given to staffs, guards, and soldiers on the first day of their active duty within the building.

She was panting by the time she reached the flat level. Brown eyes flickering left and right, she heard a weak, feminine cry come from one of the three rooms.

“Maki!” she hoarsely whispered.

Her body ran towards the source of the sound. Knowing how dangerous it could possibly be by barging in without preparation, Umi forced her entire mindset to slow down and make observations. Even when it came to her lord, if she were to go berserk, it would only worsen the situation. Getting down on one knee, the samurai peered through the keyhole.

Brutally tortured.

On her wife’s smooth and clear skin that belongs only to the headband fighter, there were so many bruises and cuts strewn across her exposed skin. It was so painful to observe from the distant. How long were they at it? Umi didn’t know, but based on the testimony from Nico, it might’ve been for an hour, with or without delays.

Brutally tormented.

Words from the captors were filled with malice. Spiteful terminologies and phrases spat out of their vile mouth, soiling their ruler’s pride, reputation, personal life, and, most importantly, her sexual orientation.

Brutally broken.

Eyelids closed, she was barely leaning forward with her head hanging down. Any signs of life were nowhere to be spotted. Not a single twitch came from the red-hair’s figure.

Ah… Wasn’t this what the future Umi had warned about? Flashes of her nightmares flickered in her head. Only this time, they overlapped with reality. To see the empress gown colored in crimson red, to see the lord in a broken state, to see her wife lifeless… Was it really worth it? Was it really worth living, only to see a repeat of what they were trying so hard to avoid?

“A-Ah…”

A choking cry escaped her opened mouth as tears began to fall. Both of her hands were trembling violently, grip loosening on the katana. She wanted to drop her weapon, curl up in a ball, and scream that this nightmare comes to an end. The samurai’s heart slammed so hard against her chest, she feared it might shatter a part of her skeletal system.

Yet there was a small part of her brain that screamed to do something more productive. Crying won’t solve anything, right? The nine-member group is a part of the cause of why Maki is suffering. They need to be punished for their crimes, and Umi is the perfect person to be the punisher.

She finally straightened her posture. Then, her left leg violently flew out. A single kick was all it took to smash the sliding doors inward. The light wooden frames unhinged from its position, pieces of its broken barrier flew outward towards the group of men and women in the interrogative room.

All turned their attention towards the unexpected visitor.

The closest female in the political group was met with a sharp object plunged straight into her forehead. She didn’t even have time to react, eyes widen upon the odd sensation of a metal blade ramming through her skull, into her brain, and out. Blood oozed from both the entrance and exit wound. Umi didn’t hesitate to become brutal and harshly drag the weapon downward. Every single fiber part of the woman was cleanly cut through. Immense strength broke through the bones, muscles were torn apart, organs ruptured, and skin cleanly sliced like butter. So much crimson substances spilled among the victim’s surroundings, especially onto the nearest foes and samurai.

A barbaric action that would’ve disgusted the warrior to the core largely went ignored. Instead, Umi flicked the blade to her right in a single swipe, splattering some of the excess vital fluid on the bamboo flooring. Terrible sorrow mixed with pure rage created a monster that wields a katana before them. Tears flowed from her eyes as she aimed the blade at the now-preparing staffs.

“You… You dare hurt my wife! What did she ever do to you all?!”

It was a rhetorical question. She didn’t want to hear an answer from them. All she wanted was for them to repay for their crimes with their death. No, that wasn’t it. She wanted them to go to Hell, burn up, and wished they had never laid their hands on her wife.

OH GOD, it was her WIFE! Umi screamed as she slashed two men in her path. Injuries came towards her direction. Cuts and bruises from deflecting and inability to avoid certain blows weren’t enough to stop her. Instead, it infuriated the woman even more. She ravaged the one-man battlefield.

Eventually, she came upon the leader and his female companion. The two pointing their katana at Umi, it was the final showdown between the three of them. All coated in the bloody mess containing the fluid from the participants, they looked like serial murderers.

“You… You monster!” he hollered as his companion rushed forward. “You shouldn’t have been married to her! Didn’t you know that it’s taboo for females to be in a relationship with other females?!”

Sonoda raised her katana vertically to block the incoming strike. The woman was much stronger in comparison to the other, forcing the experienced samurai to be pushed back slightly. Teeth gritted, she gave her furious response during the power struggle.

“Damn that rule! I care for her, and all I wanted was for her to be happy! Had I known this would’ve happened, I… I would’ve killed myself!”

“Then why don’t you die!”

That nearly led to her demise. She was so blind with rage and sorrow that she failed to realize the male government official’s critical move. He hastily ran his sword downward. Thankfully, his aim was off point, yet that didn’t spare Umi from being painfully slashed on her right eye, going straight through her eyeball, and destroying whatever nerves that gave her the ability to see from that specific area.

The blue-haired woman howled in agony as she was shoved back from the power struggle. A hand removed from the handle, she pressed it against the wounded area. Salty tears that were originally produced from it were doing nothing but create searing sensations that would make any grown man scream in terror. She gasped, huffing and puffing for as much oxygen as possible while the other two staffs prepared themselves for another strike.

“Why don’t you just give it up, Sonoda Umi?” he requested once more. “If you die now, we guarantee the safety of Lord Nishikino.”

Safety? Really…? But… When Umi raised her head and, barely seeing through her blurry left eye, the post-tortured state of her wife on the wooden chair, she knew otherwise. Left hand squeezing the handle till her knuckles became white, the fighter snarled and ran towards them without warning.

Perhaps they weren’t expecting this from the female. For her to strike without saying a single word. Umi, though unable to use her sight well, was able to hone her other senses when most needed. Sound and physical sensation were forced to be her primary senses as she lashed out the bloodied katana. The female tried to block it, but Sonoda feinted the action. Instead of bringing the blade down vertically, she ran it across horizontally. It was a clean strike, forcing the internal fluid to spray out from the enormous wound created from a single cut.

No hesitation was needed when she pulled the blade backward, aiming to slice horizontally at the nearby male. Yet he was smarter. Noticing her antic, he blocked her. Sparks flew from the contact. Umi reeled her arm back and launched the blade again at his direction. She tried to feint it, but he deflected it just as easily as the first time.

This went on for a good moment until her blade finally snapped in half. The pressure must’ve been too great for her old blade, handed down by the Sonoda clan. The upper half spun wildly in the air, flinging backward and landing on the ground.

Then, she noticed him taking a step forward. He was closing in on her, giving her little room to escape. Umi knew this technique far too well. She clenched her jaw and removed her hand from her wounded eye. As he made his final move as a piercing attack, Sonoda tossed the weapon into her non-dominant hand. The left hand was immediately used to shove itself against the metallic blade, its tip digging and ripping straight through the palm of her dominant hand. The samurai resisted screaming, focusing all of her energy into shoving the half-broken katana directly into his chest.

Contact was made. She had to lean forward to the point that her left arm might be twisted from the abnormal angle, but Umi made it. The broken edges crashed into his chest, digging just deep enough to pierce a part of his heart.

It was finally over.

He collapsed on the ground. Arms extended outward, his respiratory system functions as fast as possible, desperately trying to keep the physical shell alive in any way possible. Yet Umi knew it was too late for him. He will bleed out soon, and there will be no one to treat him.

The woman grabbed his weapon’s handle. In a single motion, she gasped upon tearing it off from her hand. Blood gushed out from the large slit. It’s a surprise that Umi hasn’t fainted from blood lost yet. The warrior, with right eyelid still shut, approached the fallen male and stared down upon his body. She allowed a shaky exhale to leave her mouth.

“I wanted you to die first before I killed myself… Sorry.”

There wasn’t any answer, but she didn’t need any. She knew he could hear her. That as all it mattered. Sonoda turned her back towards the government official and examined her surroundings. There were so many dead bodies… All of which was slain by her own hands. For a samurai with honor, she’s bound to lose them all on this day.

A soft groan was heard. It came from… Maki! Umi forgot about her killing spree and rushed towards the ruler. Getting down on both knees from behind the chair, she instantly used her foe’s katana to cut through the thick ropes. Then, she threw the blade to the side and crawled to the front. She appeared just in time to keep Lord Nishikino from falling off of the wooden furniture.

“M-Maki!”

She was so glad to see her wife still alive. Although beaten and harmed, her eyelids fluttered to showcase the beautiful pair of violet eyes so few possess. Maki was in a bit of a daze at first. When she finally recollected her senses, the first person she saw was her own wife. A smile formed on her lips out of relief, but… that only lasted for a couple of seconds. Instead, a grimace replaced it.

“Your right eye…”

A hand, so gentle to the touch, reached out towards the fresh wound. Umi winced at the sensation, but kept her composure and posture the same as much as possible for her superior to feel it. At that same moment, the samurai couldn’t help but let out a forced chuckle.

“Ironic, isn’t it? It’s the same injury as my future self…”

When Maki heard that from Umi, she glanced up and saw the slaughtering fest. Ah, so Sonoda Umi, the person that she calls her wife and guardian, could be like this also? Maybe she must’ve overestimated her lover when she made a proclamation that Umi wouldn’t be the same as her future self. Perhaps it was wrong of her to say that… for this Umi looked like she wanted to succumb to her failure.

The royal member removed her fingertips from the wound. She was about to apologize when, without warning, the older of the two shoved her face directly into Maki’s chest. A loud sob croaked from her throat as she desperately hugged the other.

“I… I thought I would lose you! I knew I should’ve died back then! I knew I should’ve!”

Physical pain from her wounds was nothing in comparison to the emotional anguish that struck the samurai. Over and over, waves of heartache smashed into her fragile heart as she cried into Maki’s chest, a mixture of metallic blood and salty tears soaking the royal’s robe.

If only she had died, this wouldn’t have happened. She should’ve just listened to her older self, she should’ve just listened to her older self–

“Did you already forget?” There was a gentle touch to her head. Soon, the blue-haired female felt the lord slowly rub it. When she finally parted from Nishikino’s chest and looked up towards the woman, their foreheads came into contact. “I told you… I wouldn’t die so easily… right?”


End file.
